Corks for sparkling wine bottles with a large cavity to accommodate any inserts

Abstract

Corks for sparkling wine bottles made of natural cork, agglomerate cork, composite cork or another elastic, gas-tight material, characterized by a non-continuous cavity arranged in the head and / or stem area, wherein the cavity is dimensioned and designed to allow the inclusion of any inserts, including but not limited to functional components such as LED and / or sound modules as well as non-functional objects, and wherein the technical requirements for sparkling wine corks, as usual, with regard to pressure resistance, mechanical strength, breaking strength and gas tightness are maintained, wherein the cavity preferably has a depth of about 20 mm or more and a diameter of about 12 mm or more.

Description

The invention relates to corks for sparkling wine bottles made of natural cork, agglomerated cork, composite cork, or another elastic, gas-tight material. "Other elastic, gas-tight materials" include, for example, silicone or rubber, and the invention is not limited to these examples. The invention is based on the following insight: Sparkling wine corks made of natural cork, agglomerate cork, or composite cork are generally solid. In the prior art, only small indentations in the head area (the part not inside the bottle) are known, which serve as a mechanical opening aid and typically have a depth of less than 10 mm. Smaller depressions are also known to occur in the stem area of ​​corks (the lower part that is inside the bottle). However, these are not large enough to accommodate an insert in these small indentations. The indentations are not designed for that purpose. Fully hollow versions are known to exist in synthetic corks, which also extend to the shaft area. A large-dimensioned cavity in corks made of natural cork, agglomerate cork, or composite cork, suitable for accommodating an insert, is not known from specialist literature or products available on the market. Until now, creating a large cavity in corks made of natural cork, agglomerated cork, or composite cork was considered risky, as it was feared that this would compromise the properties required for sparkling wine corks—especially pressure resistance, mechanical strength, breaking strength, and gas tightness. This technical hurdle has thus far prevented such cavities from being used in practice in these materials. The present invention now makes it possible for the first time to realize a large-dimensioned, non-continuous cavity in corks made of natural cork, agglomerate cork or composite cork through a targeted design of cavity geometry, wall and bottom thicknesses and material distribution, without impairing the aforementioned technical requirements. In a preferred embodiment, the cavity is located exclusively in the head area and is designed to accommodate any type of insert. This includes both functional components such as LED and / or sound modules, as well as non-functional items such as money, vouchers, or decorative elements. The advantages of this invention are: - For the first time, a large-dimensioned cavity is possible in natural cork, agglomerate cork, or composite corks without compromising technical requirements. - Flexible use of the cavity for various inserts. - High compatibility with existing filling and sealing processes. - Prevention of material waste by reducing the cork volume. Further features of the invention will become apparent from the following description of the illustrations of possible embodiments. Figure 1 shows, in a graphical view: the (cut-open) side view of a bottle closure / or a natural cork stopper, located in a bottle neck (F). The body of the bottle stopper / cork (1) has a head (2) and a shaft (3). The cavity (4) in the head is located at the upper end of the head (2) and the cavity (5) in the shaft is located below the cavity (4) in the head, tapering Reference symbol list: 1 Cork 2 Head (top part not in the bottle) 3 Shaft (bottom part in the bottle) 4 Cavity head 5 Cavity shaft

Claims

Corks for sparkling wine bottles made of natural cork, agglomerate cork, composite cork or another elastic, gas-tight material, characterized by a non-continuous cavity arranged in the head and / or stem area, wherein the cavity is dimensioned and designed to allow the inclusion of any inserts, including but not limited to functional components such as LED and / or sound modules as well as non-functional items, and wherein the technical requirements for sparkling wine corks, as usual, with regard to pressure resistance, mechanical strength, breaking strength and gas tightness are maintained, wherein the cavity preferably has a depth of about 20 mm or more and a diameter of about 12 mm or more. Cork according to claim 1, wherein the cavity is arranged exclusively in the head area. Cork according to claim 1, wherein the cavity is arranged exclusively in the shaft area and lies outside the sealing zone. Cork according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cavity extends both in the head and in the shaft area. Cork according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the cavity is cylindrical, conical, prismatic or irregularly shaped with rounded or chamfered inner edges.

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